Just saying…this is one of the hardest things to do, and, I think, one of the MOST IMPORTANT. Not rushing in Irish music is very difficult for even the best of players. Just saying for myself…it got’s to be done.
Yep
I agree that it’s hard, and I agree that learning how to keep a steady beat is important. I’m just not sure a metronome is the best tool for it. It’s useful if you ever plan to do studio recording and need to play with a click track, because nothing else will prepare you for that experience. It’s also good if you have to play music for modern-style stepdancers, who often specify the BPM that you are required to play. But apart from those situations, playing along with good steady players (either live on on recordings) feels like a more organic and musical process to me, because you’re doing the work of improving your rhythm within the context of the music itself.
The folksinger Gordon Bok used to have a problem keeping a steady beat; his mentor had him listen to Dixieland bands for hours on end while he tapped his foot. That worked for him, even though he doesn’t play Dixieland music himself. For me, I’ve always found that playing along with recordings, either at speed or slowed down, is a really good discipline for getting a steady beat while practicing at home. It also helps your listening skills: you’re learning to keep a steady beat in the context of the actual music you’ll be playing, in a setting you’re likely to encounter (playing with other musicians). Same goes for sessions: sessions where there’s a strong player maintaining the rhythm can be helpful, and especially small sessions with just a handful of players tend to stay steady unless one of the players has a habit of speeding up or slowing down.
The piper Michael Cooney has the steadiest beat of just about any musician I can think of; in lieu of a metronome you could do very well just getting some recordings of him and playing along.
I agree that using a metronome is a great tool for keeping a steady tempo (or using a recording like mentioned above). Lately I’ve been using a metronome to drill steady tempo into my head while learning a new instrument (pipes). It can be helpful when I’m otherwise concentrating on new muscle movements.